6. The Big Bang

A world that is getting older has to have a starting point.

So far in our investigation of the logical basis for an infinite existence, we've ruled out two possibilities:

the world spontaneously came into existence (how can nothing create something?), and

our finite existence came from some other previous finite existence (it postpones rather than answers the question).

Other than the G-d option (an infinite being), we have one more possibility to examine:

(d) The process (of cause and effect in the universe) has no beginning and has been going on eternally.

This option seems to be the only viable alternative to an infinite G-d. Let's examine if it is indeed viable. The ancient Greeks were bothered by the same cosmological questions that we are dealing with here. As the philosopher Lucretius asked, "Why is there something, rather than nothing?" In other words, why does the universe exist?

Aristotle, in Metaphysics, challenged a basic assumption that we've been making until now: Who says there was ever a beginning? Aristotle would agree that anything that has a beginning requires a beginner, but something that has always existed doesn't necessitate the existence of a beginner.

At first glance, this argument is compelling. Aristotle is not proving that the universe has no beginning, but rather he's casting the burden of proof on the Torah worldview to demonstrate that the universe indeed does have a beginning. Aristotle's retort to "In the beginning" is: "How do you know there was one?"

There are two lines of reasoning that make the idea of an eternally-old universe impossible: logic and modern science.

In our modern world the idea of an eternally old universe, i.e. a universe that has no beginning, has been decisively disproven, most notably by the discovery of the big bang. As Dr. Gerald Schroeder points out,1 as of 1959, two-thirds of US astronomers and physicists believed that the universe was eternally old (i.e. had no beginning). In the intervening years, there has been a dramatic turnaround. Now, the vast majority of scientists are convinced, based on the incontrovertible evidence of a big bang, that the universe had a distinct beginning in time, some 10-15 billion years ago.

Once scientists discovered that all of physical reality came in to existence at a specific point in time, it clearly begs the question: "What prior force created the big bang?" If all of time and space began from a specific particle at a specific instant, then something beyond nature must be responsible for the existence of that first particle that exploded. British theorist Edward Milne wrote a mathematical treatise on the theory of relativity. He concludes it by saying, "As to the first cause of the universe, in the context of expansion, that is left for the reader to insert, but the picture is incomplete without Him."

But of course, when Maimonides and his contemporaries set out to show that an eternal universe, i.e. the Greek view, is illogical, they obviously didn't have the benefit of modern scientific discoveries. How were they able to support their position on purely logical grounds? The Greeks are claiming that the universe has been around forever, that is, for an infinite amount of time. Can that claim be refuted?

The refutation is contained in one simple piece of logic: If the world is infinitely old, then how can it still be getting older? In other words, there's a fundamental difficulty with stating that something – in our example, "time" – is infinitely big and yet getting bigger. Can an infinitely long line get any longer? Of course not. You might say that this line is so long that it's not measurable. But if you tell me that this line is continuously getting longer, then it can't already be infinitely long! "Infinitely long" by definition means that it already exceeds all possible limitations. The Greeks are proposing that the universe is "infinitely old," and yet we know that as every day goes by, we, along with everything in this universe, are getting older. That would be utterly illogical.

Maimonides Meets Aristotle

By way of example, let's say that Maimonides met Aristotle one day and as they were walking along, they came across a huge pile of marbles. This pile is so huge that as they look with telescopes in every direction, they can't see any end to the pile. It seems to go on forever.

Aristotle: "I believe that this is an infinitely large pile of marbles."

Maimonides: "Look, I have no idea how many marbles are here, but logically it must be finite. Here's my proof: What would happen, Aristotle, if I removed one marble from the pile? How many marbles would be left now? An infinite number or a finite number?"

Aristotle: "Finite."

Maimonides: "Well, if it's finite now, then what will happen when I put this marble back into the pile? Will the pile go from being finite to infinite? Impossible! Finite-plus-one is just a slightly bigger finite!"

Aristotle: "Okay then, if you remove one marble, I say the pile must still be infinite."

Maimonides: "Well then, you've got an even bigger problem. Because now the pile is infinite – but it's a little smaller then it was before?! How can an infinite pile change in size? And if I add three more marbles, it will be bigger yet just as infinite? There's only one logical possibility: The pile must be finite. It might be uncountable, but there must be a specific, finite, number of marbles in the pile."

That's essentially what the Greeks proposed: Time is infinitely old, yet getting older all the time. Or that an infinite number of events have already taken place in the universe, and yet the number of events is constantly growing as new things happen every day. It's logically impossible.

Now that we've eliminated all the other possibilities, we're left with one view: An infinite force must have created this finite world. And the more we ponder infinite existence, the more we realize how unimaginable it is.

However, by what right do we say that this force is a "Being" that "decided" to create? How do we know that this Being is caring, just and powerful? We'll tackle these questions as we go on in the chapter.

One question which could be asked at this point, is the classical atheist retort: "Well, who made G-d?" And if we're going to say that G-d is an uncaused entity, why not just say that about the universe itself – that the universe "was, is and will be eternally" without cause.

We have to notice a subtle but critical difference in the claim, however. In our original argument, point (1) was: We know that all finite things have a prior cause that brought them into existence. Since the universe is finite – i.e. it's made of matter, it's existed for several billion years, it contains a certain amount of energy, etc. – then we can't simply say "the universe is uncaused" any more than we can postulate that the chair you're sitting on is uncaused. It violates our most basic understanding of the workings of nature to say that something "just exists" without a cause.

On the other hand, there's no reason for us to apply this limitation of nature to a being who is above and beyond that nature. In other words, in the finite system that we experience, there's a universal law of cause and effect that cannot be denied. Those are the laws that govern how the system of finite operates. We are simply deducing that there must be something outside of the system that created it with its rules and limitations. There's no reason to suggest that if G-d makes a world (i.e. a system of causes and effects), He must be bound the rules of the system He created. It would be like saying that since my friend manufactures AM radios, you can't hear him when he walks in tunnels!

The Cosmological Argument

This argument we've been discussing – the existence of an infinite being that created our finite world – is classically known as the "cosmological argument for G-d's existence." We have to keep in mind that Maimonides, Rabbi Saadiah Gaon and others formulated this argument nearly 1,000 years ago, based on principles of logical deduction. Since that time, of course, there have been tremendous advancements in science, especially with the 20th century discoveries of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Do modern scientific findings strengthen or weaken the argument?

With regard to the Greek view of an eternal universe, this is the view that was widely held by most scientists and philosophers for thousands of years. As mentioned earlier, this totally does away with any need to ask, "Who created the universe?" But with Professor Edwin Hubble's 1920s discovery that the universe is expanding, it forced scientists to reconsider. If the universe is expanding, then billions of years ago it must have been much smaller... and before that even smaller. So there must have been a point at which it all began, hence the big bang. Scientific American in 1976 described it as follows:

The universe began from a state of infinite density... Space and time were created in that event and so was all the matter in the universe. It is not meaningful to ask what happened before the Big Bang; it is like asking what is north of the North Pole. Similarly, it is not sensible to ask where the Big Bang took place. The point-universe was not an object isolated in space; it was the entire universe, and so the answer can only be that the Big Bang happened everywhere.2

In other words, since the big bang marked the beginning point of the entire universe, it wasn't expanding into something else. It was all of finite existence – all of time and space.

At one point, scientists attempted to avoid the theological conclusions of this discovery by positing an "oscillating" universe. In other words, perhaps the universe that is now expanding will one day reach a limit and then collapse, then go through another cycle of big bang where it will expand again, and then collapse, ad infinitum. And perhaps it has already been expanding and collapsing forever! Hence, a resurrection of the Greek model.

The general consensus among scientists today is that, given the nature of the universe, it is a physical impossibility. According to two current prominent cosmologists, Sandage and Tammann, "...we are forced to decide that... it seems inevitable that the Universe will expand forever... the Universe has happened only once."3 And according to Novikov and Zeldovich of the Institute of Applied Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, "The multicycle model [i.e. continuously going through cycles of expansion and contraction] has an infinite future, but only a finite past."4

Who made G-d?

Is the statement "In the beginning, G-d created," a statement of logic, or does it require a leap of faith?

As science now comes to accept the notion of a big bang, does that support or contradict the Jewish notion of a creation?

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About the Author

Rabbi Moshe Zeldman performed undergraduate work in Artificial Intelligence and Philosophy at the University of Toronto, and has rabbinic ordination from Aish HaTorah. He lectures on a wide variety of topics at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, and to audiences around the world. He is also involved with research into hidden codes in the Torah. He resides in Jerusalem with his wife and their five children.

I live in rural Montana where the Cholov Yisrael milk is difficult to obtain and very expensive. So I drink regular milk. What is your view on this?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Jewish law requires that there be rabbinic supervision during the milking process to ensure that the milk comes from a kosher animal. In the United States, many people rely on the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls as sufficiently stringent to fulfill the rabbinic requirement for supervision.

Most of the major Kashrut organizations in the United States rely on this as well. You will therefore find many kosher products in America certified with a 'D' next to the kosher symbol. Such products – unless otherwise specified on the label – are not Cholov Yisrael and are assumed kosher based on the DOA's guarantee.

There are many, however, do not rely on this, and will eat only dairy products that are designated as Cholov Yisrael (literally, "Jewish milk"). This is particularly true in large Jewish communities, where Cholov Yisrael is widely available.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that under limited conditions, such as an institution which consumes a lot of milk and Cholov Yisrael is generally unavailable or especially expensive, American milk is acceptable, as the government supervision is adequate to prevent non-kosher ingredients from being added.

It should be added that the above only applies to milk itself, which is marketed as pure cow's milk. All other dairy products, such as cheeses and butter, may contain non-kosher ingredients and always require kosher certification. In addition, Rabbi Feinstein's ruling applies only in the United States, where government regulations are considered reliable. In other parts of the world, including Europe, Cholov Yisrael is a requirement.

There are additional esoteric reasons for being stringent regarding Cholov Yisrael, and because of this it is generally advisable to consume only Cholov Yisroel dairy foods.

In 1889, 800 Jews arrived in Buenos Aires, marking the birth of the modern Jewish community in Argentina. These immigrants were fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Juan Peron's rise to power in 1946 was an ominous sign, as he was a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced mandatory Catholic religious instruction in public schools, and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. (In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from a Buenos Aires suburb.) Today, Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America with 250,000, though terror attacks have prompted many young people to emigrate. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 32 people. In 1994, the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The perpetrators have never been apprehended.

Be aware of what situations and behaviors give you pleasure. When you feel excessively sad and cannot change your attitude, make a conscious effort to take some action that might alleviate your sadness.

If you anticipate feeling sad, prepare a list of things that might make you feel better. It could be talking to a specific enthusiastic individual, running, taking a walk in a quiet area, looking at pictures of family, listening to music, or reading inspiring words.

While our attitude is a major factor in sadness, lack of positive external situations and events play an important role in how we feel.

[If a criminal has been executed by hanging] his body may not remain suspended overnight ... because it is an insult to God (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Rashi explains that since man was created in the image of God, anything that disparages man is disparaging God as well.

Chilul Hashem, bringing disgrace to the Divine Name, is one of the greatest sins in the Torah. The opposite of chilul Hashem is kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the Divine Name. While this topic has several dimensions to it, there is a living kiddush Hashem which occurs when a Jew behaves in a manner that merits the respect and admiration of other people, who thereby respect the Torah of Israel.

What is chilul Hashem? One Talmudic author stated, "It is when I buy meat from the butcher and delay paying him" (Yoma 86a). To cause someone to say that a Torah scholar is anything less than scrupulous in meeting his obligations is to cause people to lose respect for the Torah.

Suppose someone offers us a business deal of questionable legality. Is the personal gain worth the possible dishonor that we bring not only upon ourselves, but on our nation? If our personal reputation is ours to handle in whatever way we please, shouldn't we handle the reputation of our nation and the God we represent with maximum care?

Jews have given so much, even their lives, for kiddush Hashem. Can we not forego a few dollars to avoid chilul Hashem?

Today I shall...

be scrupulous in all my transactions and relationships to avoid the possibility of bringing dishonor to my God and people.

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